mokinnon



Patented May 23, 1882.

IINITED STATES FFICE.

i A'IENT DASH-BOARD FQR VEHICLES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 258,456, dated May 23, 1882.

Application filed November 19, 1881. (No model.) Patented in Canada December 16, 1881, No. 13,840.

T 0 all whom it may concern Be it known that I, LACHLAN EBENEZER MOKINNON, a citizen of the Dominion of Canada, a subject of Great Britain, residing at St. Oatharines,in the county of Lincoln andProvince of Ontario, Canada, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Buggy or Carriage Dashes, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to that class of dashes made with movable or adjustable feet; and it consists of the construction and novel arrangement of the lower rail of dash-frame, dash-foot, and bolt by which the dash is fastened to the foot. The lower rail is made with a channel or groove for the whole or part of its length on one side-namely, the side of the dash which is farther from the dash-foot. It is also furnished with two slots, one at or near each end. The purpose of the channel or groove is to allow the head of the bolt through rail and foot to be between the railand covering material without pressing outward against the covering material. The purpose of the slot or oblong hole through the rail is to allow the bolt-head (which is oblong) to be put through the rail near the end of the dash, in order to attach the foot of the dash, as hereinafter described. The dashfoot is made with a square or angular hole, through which the bolt passes, and in which the neck of the bolt fits in such a way as to prevent the bolt from turning after it has been put in place and the nut on the end of the bolt has been screwed up against the dash-foot. The bolt for attaching the dash to the foot is made with an oblong head, of which the width is narrow enough to pass through the slot in lower rail of dash, and the length is short enough to fit between the sides of channel or groove in said rail, but at the same time long enough to give it a hold on each side of the slot in said rail when placed with its length at right angles (or nearly so) with said slot; and the thickness (of head) is such that when the bolt is placed in position, as hereinafter described, the head will not project far enough beyond the sides of the channel or groove in the bottom rail to bulge or pressout covering material noticeably, or to such an extent as to damage or interfere with the goodappearance of the dash at that point. The neck of the bolt is made square or angularin section, so as to fit hole in the dash-foot, as before described, and is made either small enough to be turned around in the slot in rail, or with the angles cut away from that part of it which is nearest the head, so that it may be turned around, as above mentioned.

The object of my invention is to make buggy or carriage dashes that may be adjusted to different widths and shapes of carriage-bodies, and of which the feet may be detachable, in order to fit (by heating or otherwise) the feet to the buggy or carriage body; also, to make adjustable dashes, as above described, without any bolt-head or other projection showing on the outer side of the dash.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure I is a front view of dash with part of covering material taken away. Fig. II is a sectional view through 00 as in Fig. I. Fig. III is a sectional view through 0 o in Fig. 1V. Fig. IV is a back view of lower corner of dash-frame without covering material. Fig. V is a front view of dash-foot or brace for attaching the dash to buggy or carriage.

In the annexed drawings, a is the lower rail of the dash. b is the dash-foot with square or angular hole 0, through which and the slot 61 in rail a passes the bolt 0. Thehead O of the bolt 0 is made of such a shape that it may be passed through the slot cl from the inner side of dash and be turned around a quarter-revolution in the channel or groove in rail a, and in that position have a firm hold on the parts of rail a between the edges of slot cl and the sides of the channel or groove in rail 11, as shown in Figs. III and IV. The neck of bolt 0 is made square or angular in section to fit in hole 0 of dash-foot b, the object of this being to prevent the head U of the bolt 0 from turning into such a position in the channel of rail a that it might pull out through slot (Z after having been fastened to dash-foot b.

The method of adjusting my buggy-dash to a buggy or carriage is as follows: The feet I) (of which there are two-one near each end of dash) are in the first place fitted (by heating or otherwise) to their proper positions on the carriage or buggy, and there secured in the ordinary waythat is, by bolts or screws. The dash (being covered in the usual way with IOC leather or other material) may be then placed against the feet, in the position in which it is intended to fasten it, when the position of the holes 0 in feet I) may be marked on the covering of the dash. This will give the proper places in which to cut the covering on inner side of dash for the admission of the bolt-heads O to the slot (1. This having been done, the bolts 0 may be placed in position by pushing the heads 0 through the holes cut in the covering material, and (with their longer sides parallel with the longer sides of slots (1) through said slots into the channel or groove made in the outer side of rail to. Then by turning the bolts around a quarter of a revolution they are placed in such a position that they cannot be pulled out through slots d, but have a firm hearing on the parts of rail a between the edges of slots (1 and the sides of the channel orgroove in rail (1. The dash may then again be placed in position, with the bolts C passing through the holes 0 in feet, as shown in Fig. III.

The

nuts on ends of bolts 0 may then be screwed tight, and as the square or angular necks of the bolts (J, fitting in the square or angular holes 0 in the feet b, prevent the bolts G from turning, the dash is held fast and cannot be detached without loosening the nuts on bolts 0.

I make no claim to the slot in lower rail, a, as I am aware that this is not new; but

I claim as my inven tion The combination of a dash, with its lower rail, a, provided with the groove 9, havingslots d, with the bolts 0, having oblong heads adapted to be inserted through said slots and turned across said channels, and secured to the feet by nuts, substantially as described, and for the purpose set forth.

St. Oatharines, 15th November, 1881.

LAOIILAN EBENEZER MCKINNON.

Witnesses:

ALEXR. L. MITCHELL, WILLIAM A. NoTMAN. 

